I do worry about all the library books that will be returned after all this. Will the be quarantined for a few weeks before being reshelved? How will they handle touching all of that? Books come up real close and personal with people, people lack their fingers to turn the pages, sneeze on everything, and are generally careless. So. That’s a fairly big concern of mine for some reason.
We haven’t gotten to that plan yet but we will likely wipe down covers and/or remove recently-returned items from the collection temporarily.
It occurred to me last night that there will be a lot of social pressure to “make the best of it” and meet up with friends while many people are home. There’s a lot of pressure to support local businesses, like restaurants, that are still open. To pick things up, or get takeout. It’s SUCKS for any small business to have to close and I already have friends in service positions who are losing income due to this (esp. people who work in theaters/events/entertainment production). But limiting the spread to a manageable level is the most important thing. And like everyone says, if it turns out to NOT be that bad, and you don’t know someone who dies, and you can go back to normal life in 2 months, then we’ll know we were successful.
So yeah, it’s tempting to grab coffee with a friend, or even invite them over, but try to avoid the temptation.
One thing I've seen suggested here, that I really like, is that this is a great time to buy gift cards from local businesses. It will help keep them afloat through the crisis, and you can plan fun outings once it's over.
The only thing I worry about is that people will then all use the gift cards at once, so they are still getting reduced income/visits either way. I can pay them now, but then I’d eat for free in May instead of paying them again.
Also my car is due for inspection by the end of the month and I am not sure if deadlines will be waived. I mean, I could sanitize the inside of my car before handing my key over (from a distance) and then do the same when I pick it up but I just really want to avoid most human contact right now.
My h’s is past inspection (long story, and why he wants to get it in next week), but it’s parked in our driveway and we can just drive my car in the unlikely instance we need to. Do you have off street parking?
Also my car is due for inspection by the end of the month and I am not sure if deadlines will be waived. I mean, I could sanitize the inside of my car before handing my key over (from a distance) and then do the same when I pick it up but I just really want to avoid most human contact right now.
My h’s is past inspection (long story, and why he wants to get it in next week), but it’s parked in our driveway and we can just drive my car in the unlikely instance we need to. Do you have off street parking?
Yes, we have a carport for one car but we have two. I can just keep mine in the carport. Didn’t even think about doing that, thanks!
Honestly we dont go out a ton anyway. Sometimes I might wander a grocery store, but that's definitely not on my list right now (though grocery pickup is 7+ days out right now. I assume they suspended the service) so I'll try and go Wednesday. I did go out to pizza on Friday afternoon, but doubt I will do that again. We went to the plant nursery yesterday to get out, but that felt pretty safe.
@@@@@@ With so many kids out of school, there's not much I'd want to take them to anyway. Everything will be either way too busy or closed.
A friend's mom has metastatic breast cancer. She posted something about people panicking, being irrational, etc.. I responded "um, not really..." with a whole bunch of links. She private messaged me and we chatted a bit. I asked if she had seen her mom and she said 'not all week' but they're still planning on having family dinner tomorrow night. I said it was dangerous because family members who are all young/middle age adults could be carrying the virus. She said "We've discussed it." JFC. You're all willing to risk getting your mom sick?
My coworker’s mom just got back from Germany (where her son lives) about 10 days ago. She decided to postpone their family st Patrick’s day dinner this weekend because she wants to self quarantine for 14 days. Which is likely unnecessary, but cute.
Am I over reacting for my friend's mom? I very could well be; it's one of my skills.
My coworker’s mom just got back from Germany (where her son lives) about 10 days ago. She decided to postpone their family st Patrick’s day dinner this weekend because she wants to self quarantine for 14 days. Which is likely unnecessary, but cute.
Am I over reacting for my friend's mom? I very could well be; it's one of my skills.
No, no. My coworker’s mom is 68 but in good health. She’s just trying to not expose her kids (30s-40s) and grandkids. But she’s totally asymptomatic.
I would DEFINITELY recommend isolating someone who is a cancer patient, and also anyone over 65 most likely.
One thing I've seen suggested here, that I really like, is that this is a great time to buy gift cards from local businesses. It will help keep them afloat through the crisis, and you can plan fun outings once it's over.
The only thing I worry about is that people will then all use the gift cards at once, so they are still getting reduced income/visits either way. I can pay them now, but then I’d eat for free in May instead of paying them again.
Yeah, I don’t know that there is any perfect solution. I hope local governments do the right thing to help them out. Even the gift card idea won’t be enough unless everyone does it.
I would think that people aren’t going to go use all the gift cards at once. They’d likely have a mix of cash/gift card customers.
It occurred to me last night that there will be a lot of social pressure to “make the best of it” and meet up with friends while many people are home. There’s a lot of pressure to support local businesses, like restaurants, that are still open. To pick things up, or get takeout. It’s SUCKS for any small business to have to close and I already have friends in service positions who are losing income due to this (esp. people who work in theaters/events/entertainment production). But limiting the spread to a manageable level is the most important thing. And like everyone says, if it turns out to NOT be that bad, and you don’t know someone who dies, and you can go back to normal life in 2 months, then we’ll know we were successful.
So yeah, it’s tempting to grab coffee with a friend, or even invite them over, but try to avoid the temptation.
One thing I've seen suggested here, that I really like, is that this is a great time to buy gift cards from local businesses. It will help keep them afloat through the crisis, and you can plan fun outings once it's over.
If people don't ever redeem them but see the gift cards as a small grant, that would be even more helpful. Or use it in 6-9 months when cash flow is more back to normal.
One thing I've seen suggested here, that I really like, is that this is a great time to buy gift cards from local businesses. It will help keep them afloat through the crisis, and you can plan fun outings once it's over.
The only thing I worry about is that people will then all use the gift cards at once, so they are still getting reduced income/visits either way. I can pay them now, but then I’d eat for free in May instead of paying them again.
I have been thinking about this too. I think the solution works because in May, the vast majority of people eating there will still be people who are normal paying customers. Plus in May the restaurant can do thinks like raise its prices 5% or take cost cutting measures to help pay back what is basically a loan. Whereas right now, it doesn’t have any options to increase revenue and decrease costs, short of laying people off.
If you are still concerned, one option is to just use the gift card for a portion of the meal and make multiple visits. Or instead of buying a $100 gift card, buy four $25 ones.
Am I over reacting for my friend's mom? I very could well be; it's one of my skills.
No, no. My coworker’s mom is 68 but in good health. She’s just trying to not expose her kids (30s-40s) and grandkids. But she’s totally asymptomatic.
I would DEFINITELY recommend isolating someone who is a cancer patient, and also anyone over 65 most likely.
Okay. I just woke up so I was like "Wait... Am I off base here?" I honestly can't believe that they are all willing to go over to her parents house. She's been in active treatment. I saw her a few months ago and she had radioactive beads in her liver because it had metastasized.
We are basically home for now. We go outside for walks, runs and bike rides but otherwise nada.
We have enough food and household essentials to stay in, which I’m so grateful for.
I’ve canceled all non essential medical appointments, including therapies.
I have an IV infusion at the hospital the first week of April that I want to postpone but I have encouraged to keep the appt. I’m nervous about that since it’s a shared space with all people on different immunosuppressants and it’s not like you can easily get up and leave if someone starts coughing.
I am scheduled to work again at the hospital Saturday but I’m hoping to be done before then.
No, no. My coworker’s mom is 68 but in good health. She’s just trying to not expose her kids (30s-40s) and grandkids. But she’s totally asymptomatic.
I would DEFINITELY recommend isolating someone who is a cancer patient, and also anyone over 65 most likely.
Okay. I just woke up so I was like "Wait... Am I off base here?" I honestly can't believe that they are all willing to go over to her parents house. She's been in active treatment. I saw her a few months ago and she had radioactive beads in her liver because it had metastasized.
Is it possible that she is so ill that they just want to enjoy the time they have left? If the chances that they’ve been exposed are low, but the chances that they only have a few family dinners left is high...those are tough decisions to make.
I do worry about all the library books that will be returned after all this. Will the be quarantined for a few weeks before being reshelved? How will they handle touching all of that? Books come up real close and personal with people, people lack their fingers to turn the pages, sneeze on everything, and are generally careless. So. That’s a fairly big concern of mine for some reason.
We haven’t gotten to that plan yet but we will likely wipe down covers and/or remove recently-returned items from the collection temporarily.
The data I have read says 24 hours on cardboard (so I assume paper is similar) and 3 days on plastic (some book covers).
So we checked out books on Sat and they are sitting on a garage shelf (clean and dry!) Until probably Tues morning. I plan to do the same with the Amazon package I ordered with books and puzzles.
Post by seeyalater52 on Mar 15, 2020 9:07:28 GMT -5
Thank you to those of you being careful about using the @ tag. There are several posts on this page that aren’t appropriately tagged. My anxiety is at an all time high and I’m really, really trying to avoid things that are making it worse and I hate when these threads that are meant to help become extra stressful because of co-mingling of @ content.
Okay. I just woke up so I was like "Wait... Am I off base here?" I honestly can't believe that they are all willing to go over to her parents house. She's been in active treatment. I saw her a few months ago and she had radioactive beads in her liver because it had metastasized.
Is it possible that she is so ill that they just want to enjoy the time they have left? If the chances that they’ve been exposed are low, but the chances that they only have a few family dinners left is high...those are tough decisions to make.
She's stable for now and they have a family trip planned for July. Even if she only has a relatively limited amount of time left, getting COVID could greatly reduce it. It's community spread here and both my friend and her sister work in public environments so there's a decent chance they've been exposed.
My coworker’s mom just got back from Germany (where her son lives) about 10 days ago. She decided to postpone their family st Patrick’s day dinner this weekend because she wants to self quarantine for 14 days. Which is likely unnecessary, but cute.
Am I over reacting for my friend's mom? I very could well be; it's one of my skills.
FWIW, one of the oncologists I follow on twitter posted that some of the common MBC drugs do not make one immunocompromised. I can’t find the tweet right now, but, if my second hand, unsourced twitter knowledge can calm your proxy worries a touch.
edit - clarified the wording to be slightly more accurate.
A friend who lives in Shanghai shared this today on fb:
“ Just wanted to say to all my family and friends who are now experiencing the Corona virus first hand, I feel like I am contacting you from the future. We have been displaced from our home for 7 weeks now, school has been closed, we have been working remotely, worn masks, seen empty grocery shelves, and washed our hands more times in a day than I can count. We have lived in complete uncertainty. And I just want to say that you will get through it. You will find a new normal. You will find ways to feel safe and calm. Reach out to those around you, validate your emotions, breathe, have a glass of wine, exercise, meditate, find small things to be grateful for, and remember that you are resourceful and strong. And trust all of us from the future... leave the TP alone, you don't need to bulk buy it, it'll be fine.”
The Sunday morning shows are talking a lot about when the tests will be available, but...is it too late? It seems like the point of the tests is to identify cases as early as possible to isolate those exposed, and try to contain.
But at this point, it just seems like making tests widely available will cause a run on medical providers and give people a false sense is security (because the could test negative but contract while having the test performed or shortly thereafter).
Thoughts?
ETA - and I’m not saying don’t test. I’m just saying that the ship seems to have sailed. Tell people to stay home if they feel sick and give them guidelines in when to go to the hospital, but what value to the public is there to say, the drive through testing services that is worth the risk of increased exposure? I’m asking not as a rhetorical question but because I honestly don’t know the answer.
Friend of a friend was traveling in Europe and made it back coming through New York. He was not screened, he did not speak to anyone, just walked through with his passport. He now has to fly to his next destination. He has a cough. He has to self quarantine for two weeks before he can go back to work but he has no food or supplies now. I told her to tell him to instacart or Walmart drive up if he can find it (you can’t get Walmart pick up in our area anymore...I mean you can but not for days. Too much demand).
The Sunday morning shows are talking a lot about when the tests will be available, but...is it too late? It seems like the point of the tests is to identify cases as early as possible to isolate those exposed, and try to contain.
But at this point, it just seems like making tests widely available will cause a run on medical providers and give people a false sense is security (because the could test negative but contract while having the test performed or shortly thereafter).
Thoughts?
I haven’t watched the shows yet, but I think this is why I think they’ve given up testing in a couple of countries. The test results doesn’t really affect the treatment. It might affect some of the clinical trials for treatment though. Testing really just confirms what we “know” - it’s widespread and bad.
Side note, reading some of the stuff that’s been posted about Trump. While he is astoundingly bad at this, this situation is so bad I don’t think there is any president that would not be seen as screwing it up.
ESF I think some areas are past containment but most are still possible - so testing makes sense. South Korea’s example of testing has been a great precedent for the rest of the world in a) bringing down the death rate and b) being able to identify those who are asymptomatic. The advice to stay home if sick is true, but somewhat “horse out of the barn” as SK’s testing has proven that A LOT of people are carriers. That’s why testing remains important.
I have shifted my focus over the past week from individual concerns and stresses to big picture, what are underlying systemic issues lead Americans to react in such ways? I think it's a terrible combination of a individual before others, economy first (often including healthcare) and sensationalist media. So I'm basically trying to act counter to those issues as much as possible. Staying in even though I feel relatively healthy, helping others if and when I am able and thinking of the public good ahead of my own individual economic needs if the opportunity arises.
So, Ohio election. My BFF is a poll worker for election on Tuesday. She's freaking out a bit (more so for the elderly poll workers and elderly voters in the community) and she is not one to overreact. Her daughter doesn't want her to do it. BFF is an EMT in a community that needs her.
With DeWine being pretty rational about calling off schools and events, I am surprised this is going forward. I wish he would postpone and vote via drive up later on like Washington state or something. Does he have that authority Cramming senior poll workers in a shelter with everyone in town seems like a recipe for more disaster.
To add re: testing. We had a couple who came back from Egypt 10-ish days ago and self-quarantined immediately because they felt unwell. They are positive. They handled it appropriately and I’m thankful for their insight but if we had adequate testing, every single passenger on their plane would be swabbed. They are all out in the community.
The Sunday morning shows are talking a lot about when the tests will be available, but...is it too late? It seems like the point of the tests is to identify cases as early as possible to isolate those exposed, and try to contain.
But at this point, it just seems like making tests widely available will cause a run on medical providers and give people a false sense is security (because the could test negative but contract while having the test performed or shortly thereafter).
Thoughts?
ETA - and I’m not saying don’t test. I’m just saying that the ship seems to have sailed. Tell people to stay home if they feel sick and give them guidelines in when to go to the hospital, but what value to the public is there to say, the drive through testing services that is worth the risk of increased exposure? I’m asking not as a rhetorical question but because I honestly don’t know the answer.
I was having this conversation with H last night. But I do think it will be very useful to have data from these tests to know more about the extent and path of the spread. That data can be used by scientists and modellers to help predict or respond to future outbreaks.
I’m in MD. People don’t appear to be social distancing at all. Restaurants are full. Parties still happening.
@schools being out may actually make things worse if people don’t hunker down. At least there they wouldn’t be out on the town.
Also in MD. Can confirm. Sales at the shop were on par with a normal Saturday. And our community FB is full of crap about how we're all overreacting. Had dinner with my parents last night, probably the last time we will get together for awhile. They are in total denial.
I ran out to pick up something and it’s eerie seeing most churches empty (except the Catholics because of course). Our area is pretty conservative (large military presence) but I think that’s contributing to the “follow orders” reaction. Haven’t seen too many complaints yet. You can definitely tell who the Fox News watchers are though since they’re all scrambling around this weekend. Or, frankly, doing nothing at all.